'EastEnders' triumphs over 'Street'

EastEnders triumphed in the battle of the soaps last night at the Royal Albert Hall in London when it was named the Best Serial Drama in the National Television Awards voted by viewers.

The BBC soap beat last year's winner, Coronation Street, ITV's flagship soap opera and still the biggest ratings puller, in the huge 250,000 poll of viewers nationwide.

Trevor McDonald hosted the awards and also picked up the prize for the Best Newscaster.

Michael Barrymore, who was the big story at last year's awards when he confirmed to an audience of 12.5 million that he was gay, defied reports of falling ratings to win again this year as the Best Entertainment Presenter.

ITV's The Bill was the Best Drama, and the BBC's long-running pop show, Top of the Pops scooped the Young People's Show award,